IFA to investigate after football match ends in mass brawl

The Israeli Football Association are to hold an investigation after a league match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Bnei Sakhnin erupted a mass brawl involving players, coaches and staff from both sides, as well as security forces.

The 0-0 draw at the Doha Stadium also resulted in four arrests made, three of whom were supporters, and one a steward who allegedly assaulted Maccabi players.

Monday night’s game came four days after a controversial cup semi-final tie between the sides, which Maccabi won 3-2, but left Sakhnin coach Yossi Abuksis and his players furious, accusing them of acting in an unsporting manner in the build-up to their first goal.

The full-time whistle on Monday’s game saw Abuksis go up to the Maccabi bench, before he was pushed to the ground by Maccabi goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic, after which a man in a Sakhnin shirt attempted to kick the Serbian

Maccabi captain Eran Zahavi said afterwards: “This is a scandal and this isn’t the first time that something like this has happened here, I don’t know if I was in Sakhnin or Ramallah.”

The IFA announced Maccabi will face charges for the unsporting conduct of its supporters, players and staff members, with Rajkovic to face separate charges for assaulting Abuksis.
Sakhnin face charges for the unsporting conduct of its supporters, players and staff members, as well as its responsibility for the brawl as the host team.